


Forever and ever

by BlackRoseMii



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alice being their wingman even in the afterlife, M/M, Random Prompt Challenge, ghost - Freeform, scifi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:10:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26050135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackRoseMii/pseuds/BlackRoseMii
Summary: Kirigaya Kazuto was an average university student, mainly taking online classes and staying inside. Barely anything would make him go out. But then he received a strange mail, one containing words he remembers from the strange dreams he always had. If he were to follow that mail, would he be able to find out more about those dreams?
Relationships: Eugeo/Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	1. You've got a mail

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my piece for the random prompt challenge. I'm not used to SciFi and most of my ideas ended up with a bad end. But after shifting some roles, I managed to come up with something I could write. Also, I'm writing completely free and without plan. So I can't be sure where this will end XD

It was the same dream. One he always had around this time of the year. When the city turned white with snow as it piled up on the streets and seemed to shine blue in the night. It was a stark contrast to the warm lights radiating from the buildings and cars that occasionally drove by.

Ever since they built a dome over the city, they didn't have any natural weather. So the snow he saw and the the frost that built up on his window were all artificial. Nevertheless, it was a view the boy found serene. He hadn't been born during the time when there were still no dome-cities and yet he felt nostalgia. Why he did, he couldn't tell. But he guessed his reccuring dreams may bring the answer.

Sometimes, it was as if he was watching from an outside perspective. Sometimes, he was the one living the dream himself.

Children ran around on the playground, laughing and playing in the sand. There were swings and other such equipment he had never seen in his life. And yet, he seemed to know how to use them as he played with the other children.

Occasionally, he would trip and fall flat on his face, but there would always be a hand that helped him up again. He should have had a clear view of their face, but it always seemed to be blurry and unrecognizable. That was usually the moment when he realized he was dreaming. He would look around and see that he couldn't see any of the others faces. But it didn't matter to him. While the bittersweet feeling lingered in the back of his mind, he simply enjoyed the time he could spend with others. Something he was never able to in his real life.

Soon the sun would set and one after the other the children were picked up by their parents. Only him and two others would stay behind. They were always the same. A girl in a blue dress with a blonde braid reaching her hips and a boy his own height, flaxen colored and soft hair.

As they were standing in a circle, they put their hands in the middle, chanting something. He couldn't hear their voices, but recited it with them anyway. He couldn't even hear his own words until they reached the end of their little spell.

„...forever and ever.“

After having said that, the dream would end with their parents waiting for them. Faceless and unfamiliar.

As his dream came to an end, he heard the shrill sound of his alarm clock. He slowly opened his eyes, tears still in their corners. The black haired boy turned his head towards the right, a screen on his wall blinking with the current time. 8:32.

„Five more minutes,“ he said, turning around and pulling the blanket over his head.

The voice recognition picked up on his mumbled order and the alarm stopped. He didn't have to get up that early anyway.

But soon the alarm started again, having dutyfully waited for 5 minutes. The boy groaned as he forced himself upright. He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to get them open, but the exhaustion was still making them heavy. Despite having slept for long enough, the dreams that he had never let him get proper rest. It was one reason why he wanted them to stop.

„Alarm off.“

With that order, the sound stopped and the screen changed from the showing the time to the current weather while a voice repeated what was shown. The boy wasn't particularly interested in it, so he went to the bathroom before the voice could finish.

It would be another uneventful day in the life of Kazuto. He would wake up, get some breakfast and check the news. His parents were most likely at work already and his sister be at school. Then he would make his way back to his room and start with his online university classes, working on whatever coding project he felt like doing instead of actually listening.

But he realized it wasn't going to be a normal day when he first saw the glitch while watching TV.

It was just for a short moment, but he noticed the corner of the screen pixelating into various colors, as if to show a blurry image. But as fast as it came, it was gone. The black haired boy didn't think much about it though and went on with his day.

After he caught several glimpses of that phenomenon however, he was starting to get curious. There didn't seem to anything wrong with the main console, he had checked it just the other day. In the end he shrugged it off and focused his attention to his online class.

It had become late noon when the phenomenon took a turn. His phone suddenly rang. Thinking it must be Suguha, he grabbed it, only to realize the sender of the mail was anonymous. He hesitated before opening it.

He thought it might be spam mail or someone had the wrong number, but what he saw could never be coincidence.

_Forever and ever._

He stared at the words, his feeling of time gone. The words from his dream. Those that he and the other two children chanted every time they parted ways. He wanted to write back, to ask what this was about, but he couldn't answer an anonymous mail. Then he noticed the rest of the text. At the end, there were a string of numbers. On closer inspection they seemed to look like coordinates. Without thinking twice about it, he entered the numbers into his computer and waited as it processed them. They were indeed coordinates to a place not too far away. He could easily take a couple of hours to go there and come back before anyone notices.

It sounded strange to him. Kazuto – who never went out unless he really needed to – decided to follow this mysterious mail without a second thought. It could have been just a prank or even some sort of trap, but he didn't care. Something inside him said that he might finally find the answer to his dreams.

And so he turned off his computer, put on a jacket and left the house.

Several train rides later he was nearly at his destination. The coordinates brought him to a less populated part at the edges of the city. The buildings seemed almost untouched from the ever growing progress in the heart of the city.

He walked down the worn down roads, always having an eye on his phone to make sure he wasn't getting lost. As he came closer, he saw a figure standing at the end of the path. It was too far to recognize it, but seemed to radiate a certain glow. Or it might have looked like it, since the colors stood out from the bleak white and greys. As if the figure was standing in full sunlight, untouched by the snow.

And it was waving at him.

He followed the gesture and came closer until he could see the figure more clearly. A girl in a blue dress and blonde long hair in a braid. It was the girl he had seen in his dreams.

After a short stop to gather his thoughts, his steps became faster and soon he was chasing the girl who seemed to want to lead him somewhere. He had stopped checking where he was and hurried through the unfamiliar neighborhood.

Then, after turning around a corner, they both stopped. While Kazuto had to regain his breath again, the girl didn't seem to be exhausted at all. She turned around and waited for the boy to calm down again. When he did, he was finally able to take a look at his surroundings.

It was winter, so all trees had lost their leaves, but he was sure this was the place. He had been born and raised inside the center of the dome-city, with only sleek buildings and artificial parks. And yet the he could clearly recognize the place he stood in front of,despite of how worn it looked. A playground. Something he had never seen in his life, yet he did in his dreams. He wasn't sure what he should be more surprised to see. The mysterious girl or the place that felt so strangely familiar.

„You're finally back,“ the girl said with a smile on her face, pulling the black-haired boy out of his daze.

„Where are we? And who're you?“

The girls smile turned into a pout.

„Do you really not remember? Even though we've spend so much time here together?“

Kazuto could only shake his head slowly. The girl thought for a moment before continuing.

„Well, I guess that's just normal. It's been a hundred years after all.“

„A hundred-? What are you talking about?“

The boy was about to ask more questions when the blonde interrupted him.

„Forever and ever.“

It silenced him immediately.

„That's what we had promised each other. That we would be together, no matter where we were or what we were doing. It would always be the three of us. You, me and him.“

„Who...are you?“

„Alice. Looks like I have to help you remember after all.“

„I saw you in my dreams. Is that what you're talking about?“

The girl nodded.

„Kazuto,“ she said, a tone in her voice that didn't match her childish appearance.

„We have to find him. And we have to quickly. We promised to be there for him.“

The girl seemed to be desperate, since she came closer to him with each sentence. Kazuto had to take a few steps back until he hit a wall.

„I-I don't understand. Who are you talking about?“

„Eugeo of course! If we don't find him soon, he'll-!“

_Eugeo._ For some reason that name felt familiar to him. He mouthed the name several times, always having the blonde boy in his dreams in mind. That was definitely his name, that much he could tell. But no matter how much he tried to, he couldn't remember his face. Only a smile, warmer than the summer sun itself. 

The black haired boy clutched his chest as he felt a bittersweet feeling well up inside him and he felt guilty for not being able to remember him.

Whoever this boy was, he must have been very important to him. How else could Kazuto explain why he felt like crying from just hearing his name?

„So, this Eugeo guy, you want to find him?“

„We have to! Otherwise it will be too late.“

„What do you mean 'too late'? What will happen if we don't find him?“

The girl was strangely silent. She seemed to think about the question, but didn't seem to come to an answer.

„I...can't tell you. I'm missing some memories,“ she said as she shook her head.

„Do you know where we can find him then?“

„I don't. But you should know. That's why I brought you here after all.“

Kazuto sighed in defeat and let his shoulders slump down. Things were getting a little too confusing for him and he had to get proper answers if he wanted to help her.

„Look. I don't understand what this is all about. First off, you're talking about something from a hundred years past. How is that even possible? And second, you want me to remember someone I can't possibly have memories of. I've never heard of someone named Eugeo in my life. Or any Alice either.“

„But you've seen us in a dream. That means you have to have at least some memories left. And you want to know more about those dreams, too, right?“

She wasn't wrong. Those dreams have kept Kazuto from having a proper rest for many years now. He would do anything to make them stop.

While he was looking for an answer, the girl held out her hand, looking at him expectantly.

„So, will you help me?“

He hesitated, wondering what to do. Then, as if guided by something, he put his hand in the middle as well, almost touching hers.

„Forever,“ she started.

„And ever,“ Kazuto continued.

As the boy wanted to let his hand fall down to his side, it phased through the girls hand below. He flinched as he watched and his eyes darted to hers. Her smile was sad when she retracted her hand slowly and looked up.

„You asked what this hundred years was about. Well, I'm a ghost and a hundred years ago, the three of us used to play together. Until we eventually died and you were the only one to be reborn.“


	2. Mission start!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice had given Kazuto a task to do. They had to find their childhood friend from a 100 years ago. But how could they do that if neither of their memories worked properly?

„So, Alice. How's this supposed to work?“ the boy said, tapping the side of his phone.

„Well, I'm in your phone right now,“ the girl started, her voice sounding slightly distorted over the headphones.

„and I'll guide you to all the places I remember. Maybe you'll remember something, too.“

Kazuto gave a long sigh before answering.

„Even if you guide me, the city changed a lot in a hundred years. What you remember will most likely not be there anymore.“

He heard the girl hum as she thought.

Right now, they were on the subway back to Kazutos house. It was already late afternoon and his sister would soon be home from school. It would be a problem if she found their home empty.

He was already making up an excuse in his mind when the subway stopped and a flood of new passagers squeezed their way into the vehicle. The black haired boy tried to move into the tiniest corner he could find and far away from others.

Reason one why he didn't like to be around too many people: They could listen in to private conversations, no matter how quietly he spoke. And with the ghost of an 11-year old girl inside his phone their conversation could get confusing for others.

The subway started to move again when everyone managed to get on.

„But this subway is still the same!“ Alice exclaimed.

„From here on it should be a little longer through the tunnel and-“

She was interrupted when the boy turned his phones screen outside the window. From there, the ghost girl could see how wrong she was.

Instead of the tunnel she mentioned, the rails were now on the surface. A couple of meters above it, to be exact. Under them, other rails stretched out through the entire city, cars were hovering on holographic streets and skyscrapers were looming in neon lights between everything.

„But how-?“ Alices words were stuck in her throat.

„The tunnels aren't being used anymore.“

He tilted the phone up.

„The ceiling, the snow, everything here is artificial. Nothing is like you remember it to be,“ he said with a disheartened voice.

„It's a wonder the neighborhood from earlier was still there.“

„But then...“ the girl started only to stop again. The boy sighed and continued.

„Looks like I can't help you after all. We won't be able to find that Eugeo guy.“

As Kazuto was saying the last bit, his eyes started to well up. For some reason, his statement hurt him more than he expected it to do. The thought of them not finding the boy seemed to be unacceptable for him, despite him only having seen him in his dreams.

But were they really dreams? Could they be memories from his past life instead? In that case, they might have had a lead after all. The playground wasn't the only place he dreamt of. They were many places the three of them had visited. And while most of them were gone now, he was able to recognize one familiar building. And it wasn't even that far from their current location.

At the next station, Kazuto squeezed himself out of the train, not caring about the other people as he made his way through the crowd. He heard Alice asking something through his headphones, but he ignored the girl. Soon he was out of breath and sweat ran down his forehead. And yet, he continued his way through streets and buildings. He had never been to this part of the city and yet he could navigate through the place with barely any trouble. All he needed was to follow the memories from his dreams until he arrived at a large plaza, crowded by tourists and people shopping for christmas.

In front of him, one of the oldest buildings in the city extended towards the sky.

„It's the radio tower!“ the girl in his phone exclaimed when she realized where they were.

The boy needed a few more moments before he was able to speak again.

„We came here, right? I've seen it in my dreams.“

„That's right. There was this school trip we had and we went to see the radio tower. You were so excited about it that you wanted to climb it, so we had to stop you. And by the time you let go of it, the others were gone and we couldn't find them. Eugeo was about to cry, but you managed to cheer him up so easily.“

The boy laughed at the memory.

„We were, like, 6 years old? But hey, I managed to climb up a bit.“

When Kazuto had said that, the voice of the blonde grew softer as she spoke.

„So you remember something after all.“

The boy thought about it for a while. He had seen the radio tower from his dreams, however, it had been just a short vision. He had never seen anything that happend around it. So how was he able to tell a memory he didn't think he had?

Alice must have been right. He did live a life before this one. And in that, he was friends with Alice and the boy they were looking for.

„So,“ the black haired started. „How will we go from here? This is the only lead I can give you.“

The girl hummed as she thought. It sounded more like grumbling the longer she thought about it. In the end, she gave up.

„Give me some more time. Maybe I'll remember something as we go around.“

Kazuto was about to move when he heard a chime through the speakers. The boy looked up to a large screen on one of the buildings which showed the current time and heard a voice announcing the same. It was already past 6pm.

„Damn, Sugu must be home already!“ he exclaimed and ran back to the station. It would take at least another hour for him to reach his house.

In the end, he managed to reach the doorstep at exactly 7pm.

When he finally opened the door, a voice greeted him with a mixture of anger and worry.

„Brother, where have you been? Why were you out for so long?“ the black haired girl said.

Kazuto had to calm his breath before he could answer.

„I, um...“ he started. He couldn't possibly tell her he was chasing after a ghost, trying to complete her task. So he had to make something up.

„You know, there was this game that came out today. And I just had to get it!“

Suguhas eyes narrowed.

„Really? Aren't you usually ordering stuff online?“

„Yeah, well...It's really rare! And only one store had it! I didn't manage to get it though.“

His sister hummed, suspicion all over her face. After a long silence, the girl shrugged her shoulders.

„Well, at least you're back now. I left some food in the kitchen for you,“ she said before making her way to the living room.

Kazuto sighed in relief, took his shoes off and went up into his room. It was still the way he left it, down to his half-finished coffee from this morning. He tossed his phone on the bed and proceeded to let himself fall on it as well.

He closed his eyes and lay down.

Aside from the cars outside, his room was silent. As if everything that happend that day was just a weird dream or hallucination and there was no actual reason for him to go outside at all. His exhaustion was real, though and he slowly drifted into sleep.

* * *

Another one of those dreams. He was walking, but he didn't feel his legs moving at all. It was as if he was just watching from someone elses perspective. He couldn't make out his surroundings either. They were a blurry mess of desaturated colors.

However, he did feel a hand on his and as he looked up, he saw that he was being pulled by a person. He wasn't facing him, but Kazuto could recognize him by his flaxen hair alone. It was the boy Alice and he used to play with.

Eugeo.

As if he had said his name out loud, the boy stopped and turned around. His face was just as blurry as it always had been in his dreams, but he could see a smile. The blondes lips moved, but Kazuto couldn't hear a single word.

Slowly, the black haired boy raised his hand towards Eugeo, who seemed startled by the movement. And as he reached the boys cheek, he was able to feel it. Warm and soft skin. A feeling Kazuto seemed to know all too well and had longed to feel for longer than he thought.

Eugeo was saying something again, this time a more worried look on his face. When he didn't answer, the blonde reached for him and wiped a tear from his face. That's when Kazuto realized that he had been crying. His heart ached for an unknown reason and all he wanted was too embrace the boy in front of him. But his body refused to move. Instead, his entire vision became blurry.

Kazuto knew that this was the end of the dream. But he didn't want to leave yet. He wanted to move, to say something, to hold unto that memory just a little bit longer. But in the end, he lost and when he blinked, he was back in his own room. Tears still burning in the corner of his eyes.

He sighed as he wiped them away and sat up. The screen on his wall showed that he had slept through the entire night and the blanket over him must have been from either Suguha or his parents. And the growling of his stomache made him realize he hadn't been able to eat anything the day before.

He stood up and as he was about to remove his sweaty shirt, he heard a loud gasp next to him. Startled, the turned around and saw the little girl from yesterday.

„You can't just take off your clothes around a lady!“ she exclaimed, acting as shocked as she could.

Kazuto needed a few more seconds to gather his thoughts.

The day before, he went after a strange mail and found this little ghost girl who was now living in his cellphone. And they had a task to do that seemed almost impossible.

„Right,“ he grumbled. „I forgot you were here.“

Alice seemed to be genuinely mad now, pouting as she spoke.

„You won't get rid of me so soon Kazuto. We've got a mission to do.“

„Eugeo...“

„Exactly. And while you've been sound asleep, I've managed to remember something,“ she said, grinning.

„And what is it?“

With her hands on her hips and a smug smile on her face, she answered.

„The place where Eugeo used to live.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's difficult to write for a setting that requires proper world building and not stray away from the actual plot...


	3. Where it all started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice finally remembered where Eugeo used to live, so the two make their way there and try to find out anything they can. However, what they would find would be the darkest of their times.

The girl had said, she remembered the place used to live, but again she forgot how much the city had changed over time. Unless the place was close to the playground, they would most likely not find it.

Kazuto tried to explain that to her while he had some breakfast. They went over the city map and checked if either of them could recognize anything.

„And that's where the playground is. Any idea?“ the boy asked.

„Mmh...“ Alice hummed as she rubbed her chin.

„It should be a little farther to the right. I remember that his house was close to a really busy street. Whenever we stayed over, it was difficult falling asleep.“

Kazuto tried to remember anything from what she said. He never had a dream of someone elses home, but what she said sounded familiar. In his life, he tried to stay away from people, so he never had any close friends. But he started to remember how it felt staying over at a friends place. It seemed like he used to do that often, as a group and alone.

The black haired boy traced the path on the map he felt was the right one. Occasionally the girl would interrupt and tell him to go another way or they would argue about whose memory was the right one. I felt like hours until they could finally agree on the place.

It was a little farther from the playground, but not too far from Kazutos home. So after making sure he'd come back earlier than the day before, they left the house and made their way towards the edge of the city.

It took them a little less time than before, but they were still heading to a mostly empty neighborhood. There were few houses left that seemed to be occupied, but it was obvious that they would move away and make way for new buildings. It was just a matter of time. So it was a good thing the two decided to go there as soon as possible.

They stopped at a building surrounded by construction workers. The house that seemed to have been two floors high was nearly destroyed. There were only walls that indicated of what used to be there. But even those would most likely be gone by that evening.

„Is that why you said we should hurry?“ Kazuto asked the girl in his phone.

„No, I don't think so. There was something else, but I just can't remember.“

Both of them sighed at the same time. Kazuto had thought he would remember at least something when he saw the building, but it was barely recognizable.

„Maybe we could ask around.“

With that said, he approached the contruction workers and asked them if they knew who had lived there, but none of them could give him an answer. In the end, he decided to walk around the neighborhood to find any of the residents.

After a while Alice yelled into Kazutos ears to stop. The boy did and was about to complain when he noticed she appeared next to him and went over to the side of the road. He followed her and saw that she was looking at what looked to be a small grave. Someone had put up a wooden cross and a few flowers. As Kazuto knelt down to see if there was a name, a voice came from behind him.

„This has been here since my mother was a child.“

The black haired boy turned around and saw an old lady standing behind him.

„Do you know who this belongs to?“ he asked her.

„Unfortunately, no. But from what I heard, a little girl was hit by a car here a long time ago,“ the woman said, putting down a flower next to the cross.

„Can I ask something else?“

„Of course dear. What is it?“

„The house down the road, the one that's being destroyed, do you know who lived there?“

„It's been vacant for a long time now. My mother used to tell me that the family that lived there had to move away because of their sick child. But I don't know more than that. I'm sorry.“

„No, it's okay. You've helped me already.“

With a nod, the old woman left and Kazuto turned back to the little grave. Alice had been standing there silently and didn't move a bit. And from where the boy stood, he couldn't see her face. He tried to call out to her and she responded after a while.

„This is my grave.“

The black haired boy was surprised.

„Well, not really a grave, but...“ she hesitated.

„The girl that died here was me.“

It would make sense. Alice was a ghost child, so she wouldn't have been older than now when she died. It would also explain why, despite having regained most of her memories by now, she wouldn't remember more. It was possible that she didn't live long enough for her to know what happend to Eugeo.

Kazuto tried to think back to his dreams. Whenever Alice was in them, they were always children. If he had dreams of being older, Alice was never there.

He kept trying to remember more. It was still blurry, but he remembered how devastated the two boys were when they found out about their friends death. A vital part of their group was gone and they wouldn't be able to get her back.

He remembered the day of her funeral.

The atmosphere when they followed the small coffin to the grave was suffocating. The adults were walking in front of them, crying in each others arms. Kazuto and Eugeo were holding each others hands as they followed them, the black haired boy trying his best to keep in his tears while Eugeo beside him let them flow freely. It felt like they were surrounded by black walls, unable to escape.

And even after the funeral, when they all gathered in her home, everything felt stuffy and liveless. The two boys stayed as far away from the adults as they could and hid away in Alices room.

They couldn't deal with the others and wanted to mourn in their own way. Not that the adults cared about them in that moment. They probably thought they were too young to understand what was happening. But that wasn't true. They did know that Alice was gone forever.

„Forever,“ the young Kazuto started after he sat down next to his friend.

„And ever,“ Eugeo continued in a weak voice. His sobbing was interrupted by coughing.

They didn't say anything else and just let each other cry.

When the memory faded, he saw Alices face in front of him. She was looking worried.

„Are you okay?“ she asked innocently.

He blinked a few times until he realized he was back to reality and spoke.

„Yeah, I'm okay.“

He was surprised that he sounded like he was about to cry and to distract himself, he stood up and cleared his throat.

„So, I guess we have at least something, right? Eugeo lived here.“

„I told you I remembered correctly.“ she said with a pout.

The boy ignored her and continued his train of thoughts.

„The woman said they moved away because their child was sick. I know he had siblings, but I don't remember any of those being that sick. So it must have been Eugeo himself.“

„I think so. He used to be more fragile and couldn't keep up with us.“

„But where could they have moved to?“

Both of them thought about it, but it didn't seem like they would come very far like this. And it was getting late and colder, so they decided to go back to Kazutos home before anyone noticed.

* * *

That night Kazuto had a new dream.

He was sitting in a dark room, the alarm clock blinking at 4pm. Some light was shining through the gap of the curtains, illuminating a part of the room. He looked around and saw that it was cozy and clean. A little too clean for his tastes. There was not a single bit of dust on the floor and the furniture almost shined in the dim light.

And yet, he felt like home, even though it was the first time he had a dream like that.

It was silent besides steady breathing next to him. He turned to his left and noticed a boy sleeping soundly in the bed. It was Eugeo, but he was older than he was in the dreams before, roughly around the age to be in highschool.

His breathing sounded peaceful at first, but when Kazuto came closer and focused on it, he could hear a slight rasp with every breath the blonde took. That sound alone made his throat feel dry as well.

He looked around, hoping to find a glass of water, but the one he found was empty and next to it were several kinds of medicine. The black haired boy came to the conclusion that Eugeo was probably sick. He remembered what he found out with Alice that day before going to bed. It must have been a memory from after Alice had died and Eugeo had gotten sicker.

Watching the blonde, Kazuto felt his heart ache. He felt sorry for him and wanted nothing more than to take him into his arms. But if he did that, he would wake him for sure. So he decided against it and instead brushed some hair out of his eyes. His forehead was hot and from the touch his eyelids fluttered. Kazuto pulled got startled and pulled his hand away, but it was too later. The blondes eyes opened slightly and after a few seconds he looked up. When he saw Kazuto, he smiled at him weakly. In the pale light, the boy looked almost white and incredibly weak. As if he was about to collapse.

„S-sorry, I didn't want to wake you.“

Eugeo shook his head.

„It's okay. I was about to wake up anyway.“

The black haired boy was relieved, but he still felt guilty about waking him even just a second earlier.

„How do you feel?“

The blonde took a few breaths before he answered.

„Better.“

Kazuto wondered if he was saying the truth and when Eugeo tried to get up, the black haired boy too his shoulders and gently pushed him back down on the bed.

„You shouldn't get up yet.“

Without much fighting back, Eugeo laid down again. He exhaled with a raspy breath and closed his eyes again. For a while Kazuto thought he had gone back to sleep until the blonde spoke again.

„You don't need to stay here the whole day. I'll be fine tomorrow.“

As if his body wanted to tell the truth, he suddenly had a coughing fit. Kazuto helped him up to make it easier for him and was frantically looking for water. But the glass from earlier was empty and there didn't seem to be a bottle anywhere.

„Wait, I'll get you some-“ Kazuto said as he wanted to get up, but Eugeo grabbed his arm.

The grip was weak and the boy could have easily pulled away, but he didn't. Instead, he sat down again.

„It's okay, really.“

The black haired boy wasn't convinced, but didn't want to argue with him in this state.

Eugeo looked so incredibly weak, it broke his heart to see him like this. His body started to move one its own and he wrapped his arms around the blonde. Eugeo was so small in his arms that it surprised him and he tightened his embrace, just strong enough to keep him from vanishing, but not strong enough to break him.

He felt the blondes hands on his back, rubbing it to calm him down.

„I'm not going to leave,“ he whispered.

Without a word, Kazuto put his forehead to Eugeos, feeling the heat and the sweat of his fever. He looked into his eyes, so full of hope despite his condition. It still had a spark of life in it. Kazuto tried to smile, copying the blonde, but it felt bittersweet.

As the two got closer and their lips were about to touch, the black haired boy woke up. He felt tears running down his cheeks and he covered his face with his arms, crying silently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done with this one, too^^


	4. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the last dream, Kazutos determination to find Eugeo was stronger than ever and he wouldn't give up until he found him. Even if it meant going against the law.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the longest chapter I've ever written, but I just didn't find a good spot to divide it ^^°

Those memories repeated over the course of the day. Alice had been silent as well, though it was likely to give Kazuto some time. She had seen how he woke up and probably guessed he wasn't in the mood to talk.

Even his family noticed the change. They had asked him about it that morning, but he couldn't possibly tell them he remembered something from his previous life. He made up a simple lie of not having slept well and they seemed to buy it.

Once both his parents and his sister went out, he went back to his room and let himself fall on the bed. He was supposed to join another online class that day, but he didn't feel like it. His thoughts kept spinning around his last dream.

„Do you think Eugeo died young as well?“ he asked the girl sitting at his desk.

She was swinging her legs, trying to spin around in the chair, but as a ghost she couldn't interact with anything physical. She hummed before she answered.

„I don't think so. Otherwise, I would have met him.“

„So he got reincarnated like me?“

She shook her head.

„Even if you get reincarnated, you would pass me in the afterlife.“

„But what else could there be?“

It was confusing. What else was there besides becoming a ghost and reincarnating? The only thing Kazuto could think of was him still being alive. But that would be impossible. Immortality didn't exist, even if the current medical technology made it possible to freeze ones body for a certain amount of time.

Just as the black haired boy finished that thought, he had an idea.

Freezing technology already existed before Kazuto was born. Or rather reborn. But how much earlier did it exist? Perhaps for a hundred years?

The boy jumped up and startled the blonde girl. He waved her away from the chair without a word and she quickly followed, allowing him to sit down and he opened his search engine.

„What are you doing?“ she asked as she watched him type frantically.

He didn't respond at first, being too absorbed in his own thoughts. When she wanted to ask again he finally responded.

„I just got an idea. He might have been frozen in a Medicuboid. If they existed back then.“

The girl didn't seem to know what he was talking about, guessing from her confused face, but she let him work on finding information.

It took him quite a long time to find anything useful though. As well-known as it was, Rath – the company that ran most of the current technology – was as tight-lipped as they could. The information he found was what they fed to the general public, just enough to get people interested in it. Even when the boy used his hacking skills, nothing came up about its history in detail. 

But the boy wouldn't give up. The dream that he had showed him just how important Eugeo was to him. They had loved each other and even before Kazuto knew about his past life, he always had that weird feeling. As if something in his life was missing. Now that Kazuto regained some memories, he knew that this emptiness could only be filled by Eugeo. And he wouldn't give up until he found him and held him in his arms.

It took him more than half a day until he finally found something useful.

As it turned out, it wasn't Rath who developed the first working prototype of the medicuboid, but a different nameless company. Rath made sure to keep this a secret, because apparently there were some shady things involved. It ended up with them buying the entire company and deleting all the records of it. So it wasn't surprising that the boy had so much difficulty finding anything.

But the most important information he found was that the prototype really was first tested a hundred years ago.

This wa his first light of hope. His second came after a little more research.

It seemed like there was one of their facilities left and it was just outside the dome city. However, that information worried him.

„Now I know why you said we'd have to hurry,“ he told the girl who leaned her head to the side in confusion.

„There's a place where we can find more information, but it's going to be gone soon.“

„What do you mean?“

The boy stepped aside so that the girl could take a look at the screen herself. Although she couldn't quite make sense of what she saw.

„This place it just outside the city. It should be more than a hundred years old. But since this city tried to expand, they have to break down all the buildings to build new ones. This facility is one of them.“

„We'll have to hurry then!“ Alice said, holding on to Kazutos arm and trying to pull him up. But since she was a ghost, she couldn't touch him.

The black haired boy didn't react and kept staring at the screen in front of him.

„It's not that easy. The walls leading to the outside are heavily guarded. You can't get there unless you have official business outside.“

He looked down, thinking about what he could do, but nothing he came up with would work.

Then, Alice spoke again.

„What? Do you really want to give up now? We're so close! Start using your brain! There has to be a way!“

„I _am_ using my brain!“ he yelled. Panic was starting to set in.

„But I'm just a human. I'm not a ghost like you who can walk through walls and-“

He suddenly stopped when he had an idea.

Alice was a ghost that could interact with technology. Sneaking in somewhere was nothing to her and if she could insert herself into Kazutos phone, she should be able to mess with security cameras. This was their only hope of getting into the facility.

And so, the two made up a plan to sneak past the guards and get the information they needed.

* * *

The first hurdle would be to avoid his family. They weren't allowed to know about his plan, or else they would definitely stop him. But he also had to leave early if he wanted to arrive when it was still dark. It was a good thing it was winter, when it got dark sooner and the sun would rise later.

He planned to leave through the window, awkwardly tried to climb down from the second floor and landed ungracefully on his butt. The girl next to him snorted and he gave her a pouting look.

He took the earliest and fastest train to the edge of the city, but he still had quite a distance to walk. The walls weren't exactly a place people went to. The only thing there were waste facilities and security. The main exit was way too heavily guarded, even for the ghost girl, so they had no choice but to take the side exits that were used for supplies from the outside.

Kazuto said that if they had to, he wouldn't mind going through the sewers, but the blonde girl gave him a funny look. She didn't have to touch anything and yet she was opposed to the idea.

As they arrived at one of the gates, Alice did her part and disabled the cameras, temporarily showing the records of a few moments ago on repeat. She did the same with the other security equipment and even messed with one of the guards personally. During that time, Kazuto had the chance to slip through and made it outside with little effort.

„It's such a good thing people from this time rely so heavily on technology,“ she said once they were outside.

„But spooking the guy like that might have been a little too much. He'll have nightmares forever.“

„Better safe than sorry.“

They continued their way along the walls until they reached the part that used to be a city. It was completely overgrown and barely recognizable. All the buildings had been abandoned when they build the dome and isolated themselves from the world. Some of these buildings looked similar to the old neighborhood where Kazuto found Alice, but due to the decay, none of them could be used anymore. He hoped that at least the facility they were headed to was still standing.

They followed the route they had planned out until they found the first construction equipment. It didn't look like there was anyone at the moment, so the two had no problem reaching the building.

Luckily, the facility was still standing. Most of it at least. Parts of it looked quite unsafe to enter and if he didn't know better, Kazuto thought this would be the perfect location for a zombie horror movie. So it was no wonder that the only safe entrance was guarded.

He guessed tha security wasn't there to protect any secrets, but more to make sure nobody would get hurt trying to enter. Still, it seemed a little too cautious for a simple building. Perhaps Rath was still trying to cover up anything related to their shady business.

Obviously Kazuto decided to use an unsafe entrance. It was a collapsed wall that lead him right through a dark hallway. Once he was sure noone was around, he turned on the flashlight on his phone and the ghost girl whispered to him.

„Do you even know what we're looking for?“

The boy stopped in his tracks and thought about it. He really didn't think about what he'd do after sneaking in. He knew he needed to get to some kind of terminal or computer to get information. Or maybe he could even find a proto-medicuboid. That would speed up his search by a lot.

After a while he spoke.

„You can go through walls, so you could take a look around and when you find something, you can come back and lead me to it.!

The girl nodded and left the boy.

Waiting for her felt like an eternity. He was this close to valuable information, but he had to sit still. He grew more impatient by the second until he couldn't wait anymore. He walked down the hallway until he arrived at a less destroyed part of the building. It was spacious and from what it looked like, it used to be some sort of lobby. It reminded him of a hospital. He looked around the corner and realized he was close to the main entrance. He was already able to see the light of the guards.

He turned off his own flashlight and carefully made his way towards the stairs. He didn't know if that was the right way to go, but it was the fastest way to get away from the entrance.

He made it up to the next floor without much noise and sighed in relief. But he couldn't relax when Alice suddenly popped up from a corner and yelled his name. Not having expected that, the boy made a sound of surprise and took a step back, accidentally kicking a stone down the stairs.

He quickly put his hands over his mouth and turned around. The lights at the entrance moved and the boy quickly ran out of sight, hiding in the nearest room. He held his breath and focused on the voices. They were farther away, but he still waited until he didn't hear anything. Only then did he start to speak.

„What was that supposed to be?“ he whispered angrily.

„I found something really interesting. We have to go there!“

„Then why did you have to startle me like that? We could have been found.“

„You're the one who didn't stay put!“

Kazuto knew this argument would go nowhere and he didn't have the time for it either. The guards might still be on lookout and he couldn't get caught until he found something about Eugeo.

And so, he followed the ghost girl as silently as he could. They had to pass several heavy doors and hallways until the finally reached the center of the building. Here, it barely looked destroyed, only vacant. When it had been used, it must have been a very clean and cold place. Not somewhere Kazuto would have like to work in.

Once he passed another heavy glass door, he heard voices from behind. They startled him and he fumbled to turn off his flashlight. In his panic, his phone fell to the floor with a clatter that echoed through the entire hallway. He heard the man say something and saw light coming from the corner. As he saw the security guard, he froze up, not knowing what to do. The man yelled something and was about to approach when Alice went in front of Kazuto.

„It's just a little farther down there. Run now, I'll buy you time.“

The boy didn't exactly know what she was planning, but he did as he was told. He ran as fast as he could and from behind, he heard the man curse loudly. Whatever she was doing, it worked.

He ran until he hit a dead end with only one door. With a lot of effort, he threw it open.

He would never have guessed what waited for him when he saw pale light emitting from a machine and there was a low humming sound. He approached it slowly, his heartbeat beating louder with every step.

When he was close enough to touch it, he put his hand on the fogged glass. Since he couldn't see inside it, he wiped some frost away. And what he saw was better than any information he could have imagined.

Eugeo. Sleeping soundly and not a day older than in his last dream.

He didn't know how the medicuboid was still running or why people forgot him here. He was just so happy to see his face, not just in a dream, but in real life. His body was frozen in time and the pale light around him made him look almost like an angel.

Kazuto started to tear up, put both hands to the glass and leaned down, his forehead touching the machine.

„I've finally found you,“ the boy said, his voice almost breaking.

„I'm sorry it took me so long.“

The peaceful moment was suddenly interrupted when he heard the security guard yelling behind him. The boy stepped in front of the machine, as if to protect Eugeo and spoke.

„Wait, I can explain!“

„I don't want an explanation. This place is off limits. How did you even get here?“ the man said, coming closer.

He took Kazutos arm and held it up, ready to take him outside. Kazuto wanted to protest, but when the man looked behind him, he suddenly froze.

„There's still someone here?“ the mumbled.

„That's what I wanted to say! You have to get him out of here!“

Instead of answering, the man let go of his arm and spoke to his collegue over the headphones.

„You gotta come see this.“

* * *

It was a surprise that Kazuto wasn't put in jail for trespassing. Or any other law he had broken that day. He couldn't quite explain his situation. After all, who would believe him when he said a ghost girl told him to find their friend who was frozen and completely forgotten? But most of the people were too shocked to care. None of them would have thought there was a person in one of the proto-medicuboids and they were this close to burying him together with the entire building.

Alice might also have messed with their equipment enough that they actually started to believe in ghosts.

Whatever it was, he was glad he could walk around freely and visit Eugeo. Even though they had been seperated for a hundred years, his love was still strong, especially after remembering their time together.

Would he remember him though? Did he looked different from his previous life? Would he still love him as much as he did back then?

All these thought kept him up while Eugeo was defrozen and the therapy that would finally cure his illness was started. At some poit, Kazuto was exhausted enough that he fell asleep next to Eugeos bed.

Soon, the blonde would finally wake up.

After having adjusted to the light, the blonde tried to move his hands. His limbs felt heavy and he had to regain his sense of touch slowly. He looked around and saw the black haired boy next to him sleeping, his hands never letting go of Eugeos arm.

From his angle, he had a good view of his face. He didn't even need to see him completely or hear his voice to know that this was his Kazuto. The love if his life that promised he would wait for him, no matter how long it took.

He wanted to move, wanted to hug him and tell him how much he loved him, but he was stopped by a voice from the other side.

„Let him sleep. He did a lot to get you back,“ the ghost girl said.

Eugeo stared at her, not realizing what happend.

„Alice?“ he said, his voice still hoarse and barely there.

The girl just smiled and vanished into thin air.

Before the blonde boy could say anything, he noticed movement to his right. Kazuto was slowly waking up, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

Their eyes finally met and they knew in an instant, their love was never gone. It would always stay even beyond death.

Forever and ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the ending feels rushed, but to be honest, this wasn't really my favorite fic to write...


End file.
